JUNE 25, 2004

Gene practices pit stops

Marc Gene, the test driver of the Williams team, was busy doing pit stops in the course of testing on Thursday and Friday at Jerez de la Frontera and this would seem to suggest that he is probably the man most likely to be used if Ralf Schumacher is unable to race for the team at the forthcoming French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. Antonio Pizzonia was also at the Jerez test but he was doing advanced development work, notably a new traction-control system which the team hopes will improve the car's performance in low-speed corners where it has been weak so far this year. With track temperatures in the region of 57-degrees, Michelin was able to do some work on the behaviour of its tyres in extreme heat, which may be useful later this summer when the F1 circus visits other tracks.